


this safety net is strangling you

by SnorkleShit



Series: I thought of angels (choking on their halos) [13]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Archester - Freeform, Cardin Winchester is a Faunus, Dysfunctional Family, Emotionally Neglectful Parents, Existential Angst, Family, Faunus!Cardin, Gen, Multi, Overheard Conversations, Pre-Slash, Slow Burn, Soul-Searching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-02
Updated: 2015-09-02
Packaged: 2018-04-18 14:48:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4709867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnorkleShit/pseuds/SnorkleShit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jaune's family comes to visit, and it becomes painfully clear that the Arc family have some deeply internalized emotional issues.</p><p>Meanwhile, Cardin attempts to unravel the mess inside himself, and wonders if he should be trying at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	this safety net is strangling you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [saph](https://archiveofourown.org/users/saph/gifts).



> Woken up like an animal  
> Teeth ready for sinking  
> My mind's lost in bleak visions  
> I've tried to escape but keep sinking
> 
> Limbs lost to a dead weight stake  
> Skull cage like a prison  
> And he's lost faith he'll ever see again  
> So may he once thought of me then
> 
> \- Human by Daughter
> 
> SOUNDTRACK:  
> http://8tracks.com/snorkletuckington/letting-people-down-is-my-thing-baby

“Why are _they_ here?” Weiss demanded, gesturing to Cardin and Dove sitting on the other side of the table.

“Because I invited them. Loosen up, Ice Queen, it’s just a game of cards. Besides, wouldn’t it make you happy to beat them?” Yang said, elbowing Weiss. Weiss flipped her hair primly and sat down across from them. 

“You do make a point. Prepare to be crushed under the might of my strategic mind, CRDL hooligans!” She declared, picking up the cards Ruby was dealing her. Ruby snickered, and Weiss shot her a glare.

“I’ll make sure to do that.” Dove said wryly, smiling at her. “I hope you’re good at bluffing.”

“This is gonna be _good_...” Yang snickered from her seat next to Blake on the bed. Blake nodded, not looking up from her journal. 

 

Ruby started playing, but Cardin couldn’t find himself listening to the going ons of the game. He couldn’t stop his eyes from wandering towards the door of the RWBY dorm, knowing that the JNPR dorm was just across the hall. Jaune’s family was coming today. He hadn’t seemed to be _dreading_ their arrival, but he hadn’t been jumping for joy. Cardin wondered--

“Hey, Dunce, pay attention to the game! I want to crush an _active opponent_ , thank you very much!” Weiss called, snapping his head around to attention. He blinked.

“Did you just call me _dunce?_ ” He asked, frowning. 

Weiss huffed. “Yes, I did. Is that a problem?” She demanded haughtily.

“Well, for one thing, no one says that anymore. For another, I’m not _stupid_ , I’m just distracted. Cause, you know, some people think about things other than themselves sometimes. Shocking, right?” He snapped back. Weiss stood up, leaning over the table.

“For someone who’s supposedly so _smart_ and _selfless_ , you sure did have Jaune running around day after day doing all your assignments for you, didn’t you?”

Cardin felt like he’d been slapped, and stood. But instead of replying, he just turned away and headed for the door. Weiss huffed in triumph, and sat back down. Ruby stared down at her cards awkwardly, but made no move to disagree. Yang got up and took his place at the table, giving him a nod as he opened the door. Blake didn’t look up from her journal. Dove was studying his cards with an extremely concentrated expression. 

Cardin shut the door behind him and sighed. She was right and they all knew it. They all tried to be so _nice_ and he didn’t deserve it. Fuck, he didn’t know. He really didn’t want to think about the jumbled up mess inside him right now. He didn’t want to deal with it ever, actually. 

Luckily, something came around the corner to take his mind off of it. Specifically, a large group of people. All with light golden hair and smiling faces. A friendly looking woman with blue eyes, side by side with a strong, broad man who commanded an air of authority. Behind them where seven - _seven_ \- beautiful girls, ranging from twenty something to five years old. 

The man spotted him, his brown eyes assessing Cardin instantly. “You there, young man, is this the JNPR dorm?” He asked.

Cardin nodded, pointing to the JNPR door. “Yeah, right in there. Are you Jaune’s family?” He asked.

“Yes. Are you a friend of his?” The man asked. Cardin nodded, standing straighter and holding out his hand.

“Yes, I am. Cardin Winchester.” He introduced himself. The man shook his hand firmly.

“Augustus Arc. I’m Jaune’s father, and this is my wife, Celeste. And our daughters--” He turned, but his wife caught his arm.

“You’ll have to introduce them all to Jaune’s team in a moment, how about you wait till then, dear?” She asked. The man nodded, smiling at Cardin and turning for the door. He knocked. and the door was instantly ripped open by Nora.

“Oh my GOSH! You’re finally here! It’s so good to finally meet you!” She shouted, throwing herself forward and hugging Augustus. She squeezed him tight and quite literally lifted him off his feet. 

“Nora, put him down!” Ren called out. Nora pouted and set Augustus down. Augustus stumbled momentarily, before collecting himself and straightening his suit. Jaune ushed Nora to the side, smiling apologetically at his father.

“Sorry, she’s really excited to meet you.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck. His father smiled at him.

“No trouble. I’m excited to meet these friends you speak so highly of. May we come in? Also, your friend Cardin is out here.” He said. Jaune’s eyes flicked over to Cardin, who awkwardly smiled at him. 

“Come on in, yeah! Team JNPR, and Cardin, this is my family! Family, this is my Team and my friend Cardin.” He announced, as everyone filled into the room. Jaune’s family stood on one side of the dorm, and JNPR stood on the other side, Jaune in between them. Cardin came to stand next to Nora.

“This is Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, and Lie Ren. You already met Cardin. Guys, this is my father, Augustus Arc. My mother, Celeste. As for my sisters, the grouchy older looking one is Claire, then they’re are the twins, Delphine and Emelie, the triplets are Serene, Cerise, and Christelle, and that little ray of sunshine is Avaline.” He said, sticking out his tongue at the youngest, who giggled and stuck her tongue back. Cardin couldn’t help but smile. The twins, who were the closest to Jaune’s age, where giving Cardin strange looks. 

“Jaune talks very highly of you.” Celeste said, smiling at them.

“As he does of you. It’s a pleasure to meet the people that raised such a wonderful leader.” Pyrrha said, dipping her head with a sincere smile. Jaune winced. Celeste frowned, turning to exchange a glance with her husband. The girls all giggled amongst themselves, except the oldest, who looked unamused.

“Leader? What do you mean by that?” Augustus asked. Jaune rubbed the back of his neck.

“Uh--” He began, but Nora cut him off.

“Jaune’s the leader of Team JNPR, duh! That’s why his initial is in the front. He’s a super super great leader, too! There was this one time--” She started, but Cardin laid a hand on her shoulder. he could tell something was wrong.

“I don’t think it’s story time yet.” He said to her. Nora nodded, having finally picked up on the vibe in the room, and shut her mouth. 

“What? You told us Pyrrha was the leader of Team JNPR.” Celeste said, turning to look at Jaune. Everyone else’s eyes followed suit. 

Jaune wrung his hands together. “No, you assumed she was, and I didn’t want to correct you. I guess I never got around to it…” He shrugged. 

Pyrrha smiled awkwardly. “Well, you know what they say about misunderstandings in written communication. Lost in translation, and all that.”

Augustus and Celeste exchanged a glance, and some of the girls giggled. 

"Is this some sort of prank?" Celeste asked. Pyrrha frowned. Jaune looked down at his shoes.

"No, Mom. I really am the leader." He said, and his voice seemed tight. Something about this entire situation put Cardin very on edge, and he narrowed his eyes slightly at the fair haired family.

Celeste blinked, before smiling and walking forward to throw her arms around Jaune.

"Oh, I can't believe this! Never in my wildest dreams did I think our little Jaune would get into Beacon, let alone as a leader! I wish you would have told us sooner!" She exclaimed in excitement, before pulling back. Then she set her hands on Jaune's shoulder and look him in the eyes.

"Now, you know we have full faith in you! But it is okay if this is all too much and you want to do something else, we will support you every step of the way! When you got into Beacon your father pulled some strings and secured you a spot in Helios Inc, if you need another option." She assured him.

"That's impressive, Helios is a prestigious company." Ren spoke up, voice monotone, but had a faint edge to it. 

Cardin was all out frowning now, looking directly at Jaune's parents. They're words seemed nice but...it made his skin crawl, to hear her immediately start talking about other options. To hear that Augustus had openly formulated a backup plan when he heard his son had gotten into Beacon? 

Something about the way they're smiles were all forced, and the way Jaune was being, but digging his nail into his palm.

They were acting as if it _were_ a prank. Like Jaune succeeding was a _joke_. And they didn't even bother to hide that they had a back up plan for when he failed. Not if. When. At least, that was how it felt. 

And everyone in the room seemed to sense something along the same lines. Even Nora's grin wavered, uncertain. 

"So, how about we all go out to eat! My treat. I would love to get to know the team my son is in charge of better." Augustus suggested, eyes flicking over JNPR. He was smiling kindly, but his hands were clasped behind his back and his eyes betrayed a different emotion. As if he were assessing them, weighing them, apprehensive.

Cardin felt familiar anger bubble under his skin. How could he look down his nose at people as kind and hardworking as them? He didn't even know them. He looked at Pyrrha with particular detached interest, as if wondering if she was really all that everyone said. She was a world renowned athlete, and a man like this knew of it. He had looked at her and the others with respect when he first came, what had changed?

Cardin opened his mouth, suddenly intent on calling the man out and asking why he suddenly found himself in need of judgement, when Pyrrha caught his eyes. She gave him an extremely stern look and a curt, assertive shake of her head.

_Don't._

Cardin shut his mouth and clenched his jaw. Fine. Wasn't his business anyways. 

"It was nice meeting you all, but I have to get back to my own team." Cardin announced suddenly. They all turned to look at him, and he attempted to force a smile.

Delphine, one of the older twins, suddenly flounced forward and grinned wickedly at him, holding out a hand to shake. He shakes it hesitantly.

"It's always so nice to meet our brother's _friends_." She said. "I sure hope we'll be seeing more of you." 

Cardin blinked, and some of the other girls began to giggle. Jaune frowned, and Nora snickered. 

"Oh, girls, don't be like that." Celeste muttered aside to them. Cardin pulled his hand away.

"Uh, yeah. Gotta go." He said again, whirling around and heading out the door. He felt strangely like they all knew something he didn't. He shook the feeling away and began to head towards his dorm. Might as well take all these emotions out on his homework, try and get his mind off of thoughts he didn't even understand.

\-----

Hours later, after an argument with Sky about a prank they had planned, Cardin found himself wandering the grounds at night in casual wear. He was in dire need of fresh air. 

As he ambled down a garden path outside the west wing of the library, he tilted his head up towards the stars and sighed. He felt like he had a constant pressure inside of him. Conflict, always raging, aching to be set free. Sometimes it felt soothed, nowadays more than ever. But also nowadays more than ever, it weighed him down. Everytime he tried to untangle it, he only grew agitated and angry and violently retreated. 

What was he doing? Being friends with these people. He had never wanted friends before. Actually, that was a lie. He had to admit that one. He had always been lonely. But didn't he deserve to be lonely? Well, maybe now he did after everything he had done. But as a child...he didn’t know. He hadn’t ever _needed_ friends, though. The people who stuck around him because he was strong where always enough. The ability to intimidate people always served him well enough. People may not like him, but they respected him, and that was enough.

But, had they? Was fear the same as respect? His father had always taught him so. That he had to be strong and imposing to move up in the world, it was his responsibility to be strong and weed out the weakness in others. That was his father’s philosophy. And his father was one of the most powerful people in Vale. Where power and strength really the same, as he had always thought? Or were Ozpin and all of them on to something? 

He kicked a loose stone as he walked, turning his head to look downward with a troubled expression. He would never admit it to anyone else, but he did not respect his father. How could he? He felt deep down like respect involved understanding, and some level of compassion. All he felt for his father was fear, and anger, and pain. The man who had abused him his whole life, drilled it into him that he was never enough. The man who had mutilated him. 

Cardin balled his hands into fists, but then his heart twisted and his fists loosened. That was how people saw him. An abuser, a bully, an obstacle. Something to be feared, yes...but also hated. But his father had always taught him that was good, because it meant he was strong. That making others fear him made them stronger in return. But was he really strong? What did they mean, when they talked about what strength was? Ozpin talked as if it had nothing to do with the physical, and nothing to do with fear. What did that make him? If strength wasn’t fear, and fear wasn’t good, then everything he was really was bad. All he was was fear. He was fearsome, and he was so fucking afraid. Not that anyone had to know that. Although, Jaune and the others had probably pieced a bit of that together. Which made him extremely uncomfortable. But they had no idea of the extent, so that was something.

And if he wasn’t really strong, than his father was wrong. And that meant that he hurt people and had no fucking reason to justify that. Hatred and confusion bubbled up in his throat as part of him seemed to crumble and fall away, leaving him feeling more exposed than before. 

His team, Russell, Thrust, Dove...they were sheep. Followers. Sure, they weren’t prime time citizens, but they weren’t like he was. Regardless, of late they seemed to be deciding to become more independent and find themselves. Which was a good thing, he hoped. But they seemed to be having a way easier time than him. At least, he could tell Sky and Russell where. Dove was really hard to read. 

As for the others...they were all so _good_. Perfectly imperfect. All their flaws where sympathizable, understandable, justifiable, innocent, redeemable. 

Say he did figure himself out. Figure out what it meant to be strong, figure out that he really had been wrong. Figure out that he wanted friends, that he wanted to be a good person. How would he ever go about that? His entire life had been being hurt and hurting others, for apparently, _no fucking good reason._ Maybe he should just accept his role as a bad person. How was he ever supposed to make up for all that, how was he supposed to be good? He was never good enough, he wasn’t good enough at being bad, how was he ever supposed to be like the others? Fuck, fuck, fuck! What was he supposed to do? Why was he even here? What the fuck was he doing at Beacon? He was a good fighter, sure, but he was far from the best. He didn’t even have a proper aura, a proper semblance! There was no way Team CRDL was getting into the Vytal Festival. Not with super freaks like Team RWBY and fucking _Goddess of War_ Pyrrha around. Even Jaune had a better chance, with all that raw power, being trained by said Goddess Of War. Plus, as everyone had to admit, Jaune was a damn good strategist. If he could hone that raw sharpness in his mind, well, Vale was bound to have a pretty keen military leader in the near future.

Beacon and career aside, what was he doing _here?_ On this fucking planet? Why had he even been born? His mother, who he assumed from the way his old Nurse had spoken had been a far better person that he could ever be, had died just to bring him into this world. And look at him. Wingless, incomplete, hollow and _wrong_. A bully, a bad person, horrible and filled with nothing but bitterness, pain and anger. She probably would hate him if she met him now, and that was a truth he wished he could fabricate a lie to cover up. 

Anger rose through his veins, but then fizzled out into just...fatigue. His shoulders sagged and he turned the corner, heading towards the outdoor eating areas. Little gazebo like things surrounded by grass and gardens. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his pants, his mind continued to spiral, and he wondered if he would ever figure it out in the first place. This was certainly farther than he had ever come before, but it seemed to hurt more. Maybe it wasn’t worth it. Maybe--

A sound from up above cut him off, and he froze. There were people up ahead, in the middle of the stone gazebo. In a moment of panic, Cardin lunged to the side, hiding behind the pillar and the hedge. There was a small gap in between said pillar and hedge, however, which he used to peer into the small area.

“Love, I’m sure they’re perfectly capable.” Celeste sighed, putting a hand on her husband’s shoulder. They were sitting on the curved stone bench, the moonlight glimmering off of their fair hair.

Augustus had a sober expression. “How can they be capable warriors if _Jaune_ is the one in charge? He’s a good child, Celeste, but we both know he’s not a warrior. Or an artist, or a dancer, or a mechanic, or a businessman.” Augustus muttered. Celeste sighed.

“He’s only ever tried to please us, dear…” She replied.

“I know, I know. But he always fails. At everything. It’s always been the way. I’m sure that there is something out there he could excel at, he just has to find it. Perhaps nursing. Or veterinary practices, he like animals. But a _huntsman?_ We both knew he wouldn’t even get into this school, he never got into the other ones.” Augustus exclaimed. Celeste glanced around and waved for him to lower his voice.

“But he _did!_ ” She said back.

“That’s what I’m saying, Celeste. It doesn’t make sense. There must be a flaw in this school’s system, if they let someone like him in, let alone chose him to _lead_. And that team? How are the teams chosen? Let alone the leaders? They must not be that good if they stuck them all with Jaune as a leader. How do we know they just threw all the disappointments together and put the biggest disappointment as a leader? Our family name, the laughing stock of this school? They must be, if he didn’t even tell us he was the leader. Either that or he knows what everyone already knows.” Augustus huffed, standing up. Celeste stood with him.

“And what is that?” She asked.

“That regardless of how he miraculously got to where he’s at, it won’t last. There’s no way he’s going to make it here. I better make sure that position at Helios is still secure, he should be coming home crying any month now.” Augustus declared. Celeste sighed and Augustus wrapped his arm around her, and they started to walk back towards the dorms. 

Cardin stared at the place they had been, shell shocked. Had he just heard what he thought he’d heard?

**Author's Note:**

> SOUNDTRACK:  
> http://8tracks.com/snorkletuckington/letting-people-down-is-my-thing-baby
> 
> DUN DUN DUN, DRAMA AWAITS! Also we will be getting closer to the gay, stay tuned!


End file.
